I Should Have Insisted
by PattiL61
Summary: This is a story taking place after "Ka Iwi Kapu."  Here's another Chapter.  Hope you like.
1. Chapter 1

**I SHOULD HAVE INSISTED…**

**This story is set after Ka Iwi Kapu. I own no part of Hawaii Five-0 or its characters. This is just for fun! **

**CHAPTER 1**

Steve was talking to HPD and giving them the information on what they'd found when they arrived at the property where Garrison had been hacking up the bodies to sell the parts. He reported on finding the multiple drums of formaldehyde and Garrison, when cornered by the 5-0 team, dropping the lighter despite their pleas to put the lighter down. He can still see Garrison igniting the chemical on the floor around him, lighting himself on fire in the process. He'd smelled it before, but he'd never get used to the smell of burned hair and flesh – it was pungent in the air still as the fire department worked on putting out the few hotspots remaining from the fire.

He caught sight of Danny and Chin examining their vehicles and the damage they'd sustained from being so close to the explosion and fire. As could have been predicted, Lori Weston was searching through the cooled rubble looking for evidence for the inevitable mounds of paperwork that was in their immediate future.

Just as he started to look from Lori back to the HPD officer that he was providing information to, he noticed Lori rubbing the back of her head and stretching her neck and shoulders. She stood up, immediately leaning over onto one of the nearby police cruisers and writing in her notebook. He made a mental note to check on her later on back at the office. He'd already told her to get checked over by EMS. She'd told him she was fine, but he told her to get checked anyway.

**5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 –**

Lori had been picking up pieces of evidence from the scene of the explosion and fire. She leaned over to get another piece off the ground and felt a little dizzy. She braced herself by planting her hand firmly on the ground. After a moment the feeling passed and she stood up. She had a slight dizzy feeling upon standing and noticed her boss looking over at her at the same time.

She immediately leaned over onto the hood of the police cruiser and pretended to be writing in her notebook, while chanting to herself, "Please don't come over here, please don't come over…."

"Hey," came the familiar voice of Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett. "You okay?" he asked leaning on his elbows on the front of the police cruiser and looking at the top of her head as she fervently wrote in her notebook.

"What…? Oh, yeah, just gathering up some evidence and making some notes," she answered, only looking at him briefly. Thankfully, the dizzy feeling had passed after a moment, but she did have a dull headache beginning.

"You got checked out…, by the medics…., right?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said with exasperation. "It was unnecessary, but I got checked out. I told you that I was fine," she said, closing her notebook and turning to lean against the cruiser next to him, facing the scene of the crime scene technicians going about their work.

"Alright, just making sure," he told her. "You took a pretty hard hit; it knocked you out," he reminded her.

"For one second!" she told him again. She really had no idea HOW long she'd been out. She just remembers hearing Steve at her side and reaching up to grab his arm as he helped her up. She'll never forget the look of concern on his face. Who knew someone with such a tough reputation couldn't hide that?

"Uh huh," he said with a smirk. "Let's pack up and get back to HQ. It's been a long day. The paperwork can probably wait until the morning," he finished, walking away to round up the others and hand over the scene to HPD.

**5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 –**

"G'night," Steve called after Kono, Chin and Danny as they left the office to head home, getting over the shoulder waves from the three team members as they headed down the stairs. Everyone was exhausted, but they'd just spent the last two hours talking and winding down from the ordeal.

Steve turned to head back to his office to grab his keys and noticed that the light in Lori's office was off, but he didn't remember her leaving. He looked toward the restroom and noticed a light under the door. Maybe she was just hitting the restroom before heading out he thought.

He wandered back into his office, put a couple of things away, locked up his desk and headed out of his office. The light was still on in the restroom. He walked over to the door and knocked.

"Lori? You in there?" he asked, getting no reply. "Lori?" he called louder, knocked harder. No answer. He pushed the door open, half expecting to find her sprawled on the floor. She did look a little more the worse for wear than the others had. He walked in, calling her name and looking around. No one there.

"Hmmm, maybe I did miss her leaving while I was on the phone with the Governor before," he thought, turning to leave, shutting off the light and closing the door behind him. He glanced around the office again and headed out, locking the main doors behind him.

**5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 –**

Steve shook off his uneasy feeling and continued down the stairs to his truck. He said goodnight to the desk Sergeant on duty in the lobby, pushing through the glass doors and taking in the cool nigh air, drawing in a deep breath. It refreshed him a little bit and he looked around and started out to his truck.

He made it to the parking lot and had the key in the door lock of his truck when he looked up and noticed Lori's car still in the parking lot, looking abandoned. He looked around for any sign of her, looked back at the building to the upper windows – nope, still no light on.

He walked over to the vehicle and looked inside – no one in there. He tried the door handles finding the car was still securely locked. He walked back to the building and into the lobby again.

"Hey, Sarge – did Agent Weston pass by you a little bit ago?" he asked, subconsciously drumming his fingers on the reception desk.

"Just when you all came back in, Commander," the officer answered. "I just saw Officer Kalaukaua, Lieutenant Chin and Detective Williams leave a few minutes ago," he added.

"Thanks," Steve threw over his shoulder as he started back up the stairs, two at a time, digging into his pocket for his office keys.

**TO BE CONTINUED….**


	2. Chapter 2

**I SHOULD HAVE INSISTED…**

**CHAPTER 2**

With a growing dread in the pit of his stomach, Steve slid the key into the lock of the office door, pushing the door and turning the key at the same time with no result. "Slow down," he told himself. He turned the key again and then pushed on the door; this time the door swung open.

"Lori!" he yelled, with nothing but the faint glow of the smart table in "sleep mode" to illuminate the room. He flipped the light switch on and strode over to her office door. "Lori!" he called again, louder this time as he noticed that the blinds of her office had been closed. "Were they closed before he left?" He hadn't noticed since there was no light on inside the office to shine through the cracks of the blinds.

He slowly opened the door to her office and walked in. He took in the sight of her sitting behind her desk, head on her folded arms on the desk, as if catching a nap. He didn't turn on the light immediately, but could see a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water on the desk beside her.

He got closer and, reaching across the front of her desk, put his hand on her arm, "Lori," he said gently with no response. Without removing his hand from her arm, he pivoted himself around her desk so that he was alongside her.

"Lori," he said more firmly, with a jostle to her arm. No response. He leaned closer, relief flooding over him as he felt her wrist for and found a pulse, heard her breathe, and saw the rise and fall of her shoulders and back with each breath. She was cool to the touch, but the air conditioning was on and her door had been closed so the cool air had nowhere to go.

Leaning over her, he put his arm around her back and shoulders and gently eased her back so she was against the back of her chair and he could see her face. He tucked some loose hair behind her ear.

"Hey, Lori, can you hear me," he prodded. He got only a very weak moan. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 911.

"This is Lt. Commander Steve MCGarrett, 5-0. I need an ambulance at my office. I have an Agent down. What? I don't know – a head injury I think," he said, somewhat rattled. He got confirmation that help was on the way and shoved his phone back into his pocket and grabbed his keys off the desk.

He scooped Lori up into his arms, her head supported against his chest and under his chin, and carried her toward his office. He supported her with his forearm and inserted the key into his office door. He gently placed her on the couch in his office and turned on the light. This elicited a slight frown and another faint moan.

"Hey," he called to her. "Lori, can you hear me?" he asked, kneeling alongside her and taking her hand. He heard a siren in the distance, fast approaching. Help was almost here.

He was rewarded with a slight mumble. He couldn't understand what she said, but at least there was some response.

"There's an ambulance on the way," he advised her. She seemed to have lost consciousness fully again. He heard the sounds of the EMTs coming up the stairs, led by the Desk Sergeant.

"Commander!" the Sergeant called.

"In here!" he called back, coming to the entrance of his office.

He stepped aside to let the medics through, the Sergeant coming up alongside him. "What happened?" he asked Steve.

Steve was intently watching the medics check her over. "What? Oh, she had a blow to the back of the head earlier," he started, taking a couple of steps closer to the medics; one of which had turned toward him to get any information on the circumstances while the other went about getting vitals.

"What kind of a blow?" the medic asked. "Did she get knocked out?"

"Um.., yeah, she did," he answered. "We, I was on another floor of the building. We were talking on the phone and then she didn't answer my question. I went looking for her and found her unconscious. There was some kind of metal saw or something on the ground next to her that I think the perp hit her with – the back of her head," he added.

"She was coming around when I found her, so I'm not sure how long she was out. It was about three minutes from the time she didn't answer me to when I found her," he added.

"She was fine after you found her? Did she get checked out at all?" the medic asked.

"She, she said she was fine. I told her to get checked out by the medics on scene. She told me she did and she'd seemed fine the rest of the time at the scene and back here after," Steve said. "I didn't notice when she went into her office because we were all working on paperwork and tying up loose ends from the case," he finished.

"Okay, Commander, that helps. We'll take it from here," the medic said, turning back to Lori to help his partner with her care.

"Commander, what do you want me to do?" asked the Sergeant.

"Umm.., Charlie," Steve said, putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "Can you call my team and tell them what's going on and that I'll be going with the ambulance to Queens Medical?"

"Absolutely, Sir. I'll go do it right now. Let me know if you need anything. Don't worry about the office, I'll lock up as soon as you all clear out of here," he said, turning to head back to his desk.

Steve gave the Sergeant an vague nod of thanks as he turned his attention back toward Lori and the medics.

"Is she gonna be okay?" he asked as they began moving her to the stretcher and fastening the belts.

"We're gonna take good care of her, Sir," one of the medics answered. "Are you riding with us or following us over?"

"I'm with her," he answered without hestitation, following them to the elevator.

"Lori, I'm right here. Everything's gonna be fine," he called to her.

**TO BE CONTINUED….**


	3. Chapter 3

**I SHOULD HAVE INSISTED…**

**CHAPTER 3**

In the ambulance, the medics had started an IV, continued her on oxygen and were doing another round of vital signs. Steve hadn't taken his eyes off her since he sat on the bench seat alongside her. He held her hand in his own.

"How's she doing?" he asked the medic as he finished with the stethoscope.

"She's holding her own. Her vitals are good," he answered.

They were about three blocks from the hospital when he felt her hand tighten slightly around his own. He looked back to her face and noticed a slight frown. Her other hand lazily came up to her face, trying to push the oxygen mask away.

Steve leaned over as the medic gently pulled her hand away from the mask. "Lori, its Steve. Can you hear me? You're in the ambulance. We're on the way to the hospital," he told her as he saw her eyes flutter just a bit, but then remain closed.

"What happened?" she asked so quietly he almost couldn't hear her. "Head hurts," she continued, the last part of the conversation seeming to take all the strength she had.

He put a hand on top of her head, still holding onto her hand. "You decided to take a pretty deep sleep on us. Guess you got hit harder than we knew," he answered. "Can you open your eyes and look at me?" he asked.

"One block out," the driver called from the front of the ambulance. The medic in the back with Lori and Steve started getting ready to switch things over so that they could get the stretcher out of the ambulance and wheel her in as soon as they arrived.

"Lori, can you open your eyes?" Steve asked again, getting no response. The frown was gone from her face, as if she was just sleeping again.

"I think she's out again, Sir," the medic told him.

They pulled up to the ambulance doors, the driver coming around to the back to assist in getting the patient into the Emergency Room. Steve let go of her hand as the stretcher was pulled from the ambulance and he followed her out onto the pavement.

**5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 – 5-0 –**

Danny came striding up to Steve's side as the stretcher was going in through the doors.

"What happened?" Danny asked as he reached Steve's side.

"I don't know, Danny. I found her in her office. She was out cold – I couldn't wake her up," he said as the two followed along behind Lori.

"You'll have to wait here," one of the staff told them at the door to the examining area.

"Wait! She's from my team. I'm coming in," he argued. Danny, knowing from past experience with Steve being injured and brought to the hospital, grabbed Steve's arm and held him back.

"No use, Partner. You're not getting past that one," he said, referring to the triage nurse "guarding" the doorway. "We wait over here, right?" Danny said sarcastically to the woman.

"Someone will be out to talk to you just as soon as they can," she said, softening just a little, and giving them a grin. "You learn quick, Detective," she chided him.

As they were walking over to the waiting area, Chin and Kono came rushing through the door.

"Over here," Danny called to them.

"What happened?" Chin and Kono said in unison.

"Lori was in her office for I don't know how long," Steve started. "After you guys all left, I thought it was weird that I didn't notice when she'd left. But then, I thought maybe she left while I was on the phone with the Governor. Did anyone see when she went in to her office?" he asked them.

"You WERE on the phone with the Governor," Kono recalled. "She said she'd be right back and then I got tied up on phone calls. I guess I didn't notice that she never came back," she finished.

"Do they know anything yet?" Chin asked.

"No. They're just examining her now," Danny answered for Steve as he paced back and forth.

"I should have insisted she get checked out," Steve said out loud, but to himself.

"Boss, you told her to get checked out," Kono reminded him.

"Yeah, but I should have made sure she did," he said impatiently.

"Um…, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you told me that she told you she DID get checked out by the medics on scene," Danny chimed in.

"Yeah, but I should've made her come to the hospital. I should have insisted," he said dismissively.

Just as Chin was about to tell him that none of this was his fault, one of the doctors came out into the waiting area.

"Commander McGarrett?" he asked toward the group. Since they were all wearing guns, he assumed he had the right group of visitors.

Steve stepped forward, followed by the rest of the team. "Yeah, Doc. How is she?"

"We're still examining her. The medics that brought her in said she sustained a blow to the head earlier tonight?" the doctor inquired.

Steve nodded, "Yes. She got hit on the back of the head; with what I'm not sure, but she did get knocked out briefly."

"Okay, well, she's still unconscious. She has a moment here and there that she seems to wake a little – and that's a good sign. We're going to send her up for a CT Scan and go from there," the doctor advised.

"Ok. How long will that take – before you know anything?" Steve prodded.

"We're going as fast as we can, Commander. I don't want to rush and miss something that may be crucial. I"ll see that you're kept up to date," he answered.

"Of course. Thanks, Doc," he said, shaking the doctor's hand. Running a hand through his hair, he turned back to his team.

"By the way," the doctor said, turning back toward the group. "Does she have any family that we should be contacting?"

They all looked at each other. No one had really gotten close enough to her yet to get any information on that. Maybe the Governor's Office had some information – he was the one that brought here in to 5-0. Steve looked at his watch – no way to get hold of anyone there right now, he said, letting his hand fall to his side and brushing against an item in the pocket of his cargo pants. He remembered he had grabbed Lori's phone off her desk before they left for the hospital. He pulled it from his pocket and held it up.

"Maybe there's a number in here," he said.

"I'll go through it, Boss," Kono said, taking the phone from him.

"Please let the triage nurse know if you find any next of kin," the doctor advised them before returning to the emergency room.

"Okay," Chin said. "Sounds like this may take a while. I'm going for coffee – who wants some?"

Danny raised his hand, Steve seemed not to even hear him, and Kono offered to accompany Chin as she scrolled through the contacts on Lori's phone.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


End file.
